The water plant of St. Eustatius Utility Company STUCO (in foreground at left) is located in the harbour area. (Rigobert Tearr photo)
STUCO employee Nicodemus Marsdin testing for a water leak in Lower Town, St. Eustatius, on Friday evening, April 17.
- EUSTATIUS--St. Eustatius Utility Company STUCO initiated water rationing in St. Eustatius from Wednesday, April 15. Due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease and the need to practise good hygiene by washing hands, etcetera, many persons were upset when the rationing was announced. Head of Production Irvin Jack explained the current situation pertaining to the supply of water on the island.
Jack said the situation is no different from those of previous years as the island enters the yearly dry season, as the amount of available water is comparable to that of other years.
The company is also faced with breakdowns of the 16-year-old units at the water plant and the transmission line, which is an ongoing situation.
STUCO is “continuously” carrying out maintenance and repairs on the water line and the water plant at the harbour, Jack said. “We have been continuously experiencing difficulties; some of those are with the pipes and lines which were placed by construction company MNO in 2014.
“The poor quality of these pipes was confirmed in a report by European institution for testing, inspection and certification Kiwa NV, headquartered in Rijswijk, the Netherlands. These pipes will need to be replaced,” Jack stated.
The water plant also faces a breakdown because of its age and the continuous high level of operation to be able to keep up with Statia’s water demand.
“We at STUCO are looking forward to having a 500-cubic-foot water plant installed and operational by October/November of this year, as well as the placing of transmission pipes and the construction of a much larger storage tank,” Jack said.
The utility company is calling on the community to prepare and have a form of water storage available for emergency purposes. STUCO recommended that persons utilise their cisterns. Persons whose homes do not have cisterns are asked to fill buckets with water.
Given the scarcity of water in Statia, Jack said the public must preserve water at home. The company recommends that persons have some form of storage for at least two weeks, even with the availability of STUCO or bottled water.
If persons use cistern water itis recommended that they first boil the water and store it for drinking purposes, to brush their teeth and for other daily water needs.
“We can never predict when we will face a crisis like a hurricane, drought or serious damage to STUCO’s water plant. Therefore, the company is encouraging the community to have a backup plan available and for persons to even consider building a cistern when their houses are being constructed. If water were to shut down without warning and persons do not have a backup source of water available, the company understands these persons’ frustration. We regret these types of situations,” the department said.
Jack said that STUCO “continuously” tries to announce the shutting-down of water in advance, or as soon as possible and whenever it can, but “unfortunately” the company has faced some “unforeseen circumstances” that demand “prompt action” to prevent more loss of water. He extended the STUCO’s gratitude to the public for their understanding.
